Dual attitudes in retail, its predictive capacity and interaction with empathy in mitigating negative responses of dissociated consumers

Abstract

When dissociative social groups are in a shared shopping environment, the formation of dual attitudes occurs in a divergent way, leading to antagonistic responses from consumers. Dual attitudes are conscious (explicit and self-declared) and unconscious (implicit) attitudes that we develop toward the same object of attitude. Explicitly, people are in favor of the social groups they encounter, whereas implicitly, consumers are unfavorable to retail. This study identifies the formation of dual attitudes in retail, its predictive capacity, and the moderation of pro-social behaviors, mainly mitigating the negative effects of unfavorable attitudes. The influence of dissociative social groups on the formation and predictive capacity of dual attitudes was observed through two studies. In addition, the empathy moderation was identified by reducing negative evaluations, both in laboratory tests and in empirical study in a supermarket, in the city of São Paulo. Finally, we discuss theoretical implications for the study of consumer behavior, and the practices for retail managers.